Based on where the Iraq funding bill seems to be heading, the Democrats in this session of Congress appear to be just as spineless as in the previous one, even with their increased numbers and power. What no one in Congress or the media seems willing to tackle or even allude to at all is that the Founding Fathers gave the Dems the perfect tool for this situation.
Our system was designed so that if the executive branch attempts to claim more power than it has and insists on doing what it wants despite the wishes of Congress and the American people, then the legislative branch of government has the so-called Power of the Purse to stop the executive branch dead in its tracks. And it's so much easier to leverage than all the convoluted analysis and the feeble spin by the Dems:
Who cares if Bush threatens veto or tunnel-vision GOP minority leadership threatens filibuster in the Senate? All the Dems have to do is exercise the power the Founding Fathers gave them by initiating the same funding bill they first proposed, with plenty of funding and conditions for oversight, and if the GOP filibusters it never leaves Congress. If it passes, then Bush vetoes it. This will happen over and over until Bush has no money to spend, then he'll finally have to compromise with the legislative branch of government. Our Founding Fathers were wise, but our Democratic leadership is spineless and clueless when the rubber meets the road.